Affymetrix Whole-Transcript Human Gene 1.0 ST array is highly concordant with standard 3' expression arrays.

The recently released Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST array has two major differences compared with standard 3' based arrays: (i) it interrogates the entire mRNA transcript, and (ii) it uses DNA targets. To assess the impact of these differences on array performance, we performed a series of comparative hybridizations between the Human Gene 1.0 ST and the Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus 2.0 and the Illumina HumanRef-8 BeadChip arrays. Additionally, both RNA and DNA targets were hybridized on HG-U133 Plus 2.0 arrays. The results show that the overall reproducibility of the Gene 1.0 ST array is best. When looking only at the high intensity probes, the reproducibility of the Gene 1.0 ST array and the Illumina BeadChip array is equally good. Concordance of array results was assessed using different inter-platform mappings. Agreements are best between the two labeling protocols using HG-U133 Plus 2.0 array. The Gene 1.0 ST array is most concordant with the HG-U133 array hybridized with cDNA targets. This may reflect the impact of the target type. Overall, the high degree of correspondence provides strong evidence for the reliability of the Gene 1.0 ST array.

Technologies de procédé et de contrôle pour réduire la teneur en sel du jambon sec et des saucissons

Dans certains pays européens, les produits carnés élaborés peuvent représenter près de 20% de la consommation journalière de sodium. De ce fait, les industries de la viande tentent de réduire la teneur en sel dans les produits carnés pour répondre, d’une part aux attentes des consommateurs et d’autre part aux demandes des autorités sanitaires. Le système Quick‐Dry‐Slice process (QDS®), couplé avec l’utilisation de sels substituant le chlorure de sodium (NaCl), a permis de fabriquer, avec succès, des saucisses fermentées à basse teneur en sel en réduisant le cycle de fabrication et sans ajout de NaCl supplémentaire. Les technologies de mesure en ligne non destructives, comme les rayons X et l’induction électromagnétique, permettent de classifier les jambons frais suivant leur teneur en gras, un paramètre crucial pour adapter la durée de l’étape de salaison. La technologie des rayons X peut aussi être utilisée pour estimer la quantité de sel incorporée pendant la salaison. L’information relative aux teneurs en sel et en gras est importante pour optimiser le processus d’élaboration du jambon sec en réduisant la variabilité de la teneur en sel entre les lots et dans un même lot, mais aussi pour réduire la teneur en sel du produit final. D’autres technologies comme la spectroscopie en proche infrarouge (NIRS) ou spectroscopie microondes sont aussi utiles pour contrôler le processus d’élaboration et pour caractériser et classifier les produits carnés élaborés, selon leur teneur en sel. La plupart de ces technologies peuvent être facilement appliquées en ligne dans l’industrie afin de contrôler le processus de fabrication et d’obtenir ainsi des produits carnés présentant les caractéristiques recherchées.

Què saben els pares dels infants de 0-3 anys, sobre l'ús del rentat nasal i els inhaladors amb cambra?

Aquest estudi insisteix en la importància de l’educació sanitària dirigida als pares per tald’assegurar l’eficàcia del tractament a administrar i consolidar els coneixements i habilitats del progenitors per tal de que aquests puguin dur a terme les tècniques requerides de forma adequada.Destacar la necessitat de conscienciar a tots els professionals de la salut, sobretot els quepassen més temps amb els familiars, de la importància que té la seva competència comeducador en l’àmbit de la salut.Evidenciar la importància de fer una avaluació continuada dels coneixements i les habilitatsadquirides pels cuidadors principals, sobre com dur a terme les tècniques del rentat de nas iadministració de la medicació inhalada amb cambra i mascareta, per detectar-ne els possibleserrors i poder posar-hi mesures correctores per pal·liar-los.Constatar la utilitat de preguntar i esbrinar “in situ” què saben els progenitors sobre lestècniques a avaluar (rentat de nas i administració de la medicació inhalada amb cambra i mascareta), abans de donar qualsevol explicació o iniciar l’educació sanitària per detectar lesnecessitats específiques de cada pare o mare i poder individualitzar el procés educatiu

InnovaCampus 2.0 redisseny d'una aplicació web d'ajut a l'autoavaluació formativa

InnovaCampus 2.0 és el redisseny de l'aplicació de programari lliure InnovaCampus utilitzant els frameworks Spring i JPA. InnovaCampus és una aplicació que permet l'autoavaluació d'estudiants universitaris a travé d'Internet. Posteriorment, un professor pot analitzar-ne els resultats i obtenir conclusions sobre el nivell general o d'un estudiant concret. El projecte consisteix en dissenyar i implementar novament totes les funcionalitats existents fins ara i usant una arquitectura que afovoreixi les ampliacions futures. El disseny d'InnovaCampus 2.0 s'ha fet usant tecnologies més actuals (Spring, JPA) i s'hi han afegit algunes funcionalitats.

Oxygen uptake of isolated toad skin epithelium: micromeasurement and effect of ionic acclimation.

Oxidative metabolism of isolated toad skin epithelium (Bufo viridis) was investigated in vitro under open-circuit conditions using the spectrophotometric oxyhemoglobin micromethod. This highly sensitive technique has been adapted for studying several epithelia in parallel and for detecting possible regional variations of oxygen uptake in individual epithelium. Changes in the proportion of mitochondria-rich cells (MRC) by ionic acclimation affected oxidative metabolism under nontransporting condition. After acclimation of animals to either NaNO3 or NaCl solutions (100 mmol/l, for greater than 2 wk), the number of MRC per square millimeter in epithelia from nonacclimated and NaNO3- and NaCl-acclimated animals was 350 +/- 113, 460 +/- 196, and 107 +/- 52, respectively. O2 uptake of nonacclimated and NaNO3-acclimated epithelia was significantly higher than that of NaCl-acclimated epithelia (i.e., 0.89 and 0.90 vs. 0.57 nmol O2.h-1.mm-2, respectively). The correlation established between O2 uptake and number of MRC allowed evaluation of the respiration rate of one single MRC, i.e., approximately 1 pmol O2/h. The lowest mitochondrial oxidative activity was found in the epithelia from NaCl-acclimated toads where the uncoupler 2,4-dinitrophenol (50 mumols/l) had the highest relative stimulatory effect (+114%). Acetazolamide (50 mumols/l), a potent inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase mainly present in the MRC, reduced selectively by 31% O2 uptake of the MRC-rich epithelia (NaNO3 acclimated). O2 uptake increased significantly by approximately 80% when basolateral pH increased from 5.8 to 7.8, but did not depend on apical pH. These findings indicate that under nontransporting (open-circuit) conditions, aerobic metabolism of the isolated toad skin epithelium is related to the density and/or characteristics of the MRC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

MoniTo 4.0, una herramienta de monitorización de clusters

La herramienta de monitorización de clusters MoniTo debe estar preparada ante los constantes cambios en el kernel de Linux que la pudieran dejar inutilizable. Para evitarlo se ha modificado su implementación utilizando librerías Libgtop. También se ha modificado su interfaz web para adaptarla a los nuevos tiempos, optimizar su funcionamiento y dotarla de nuevas posibilidades.

Eina d'anàlisi de rendiment d'una xarxa : TaFanet v1.0

Treball de final de carrera que descriu el procés d'implementació de TaFanet v1.0.

Cibermedios y web 2.0: modelo de análisis y resultados de aplicación

Se propone un modelode análisis para cibermedios(periodismo digital) con elfin de determinar su calidad enrelación con un conjunto de parámetrosgenerales y, en especial,respecto a la adopción dela web 2.0. Este modelo se hatestado con el análisis de ochodiarios digitales cuyos resultadosse presentan también. Presentaun carácter modular quepermite por un lado su extensión,y por otro, su aplicacióntotal o parcial en contextos deanálisis diferentes.

Indicadores para la evaluación de la calidad en cibermedios: análisis de la interacción y de la adopción de la Web 2.0

La creciente adaptación de los medios de comunicación al entorno digital hace conveniente la utilización de metodologías de análisis que permitan determinar la calidad de sus sitios web. En este artículo, a partir del estudio de las características de las webs de algunos de los medios de comunicación más importantes a nivel internacional, se propone una metodología para la evaluación específica de este tipo de sitios web. El modelo propuesto se compone de treinta y seis indicadores, organizados en torno a ocho parámetros que permiten valorar, especialmente, la adaptación del medio de comunicación a la interacción de la Web 2.0. Otros aspectos a los que también se presta atención, pero en menor medida, son la arquitectura de la información, la usabilidad, la accesibilidad o las herramientas de interacción y comunicación que éste pone a disposición de sus usuarios.

SelenoDB 1.0 : a database of selenoprotein genes, proteins and SECIS elements

Selenoproteins are a diverse group of proteinsusually misidentified and misannotated in sequencedatabases. The presence of an in-frame UGA (stop)codon in the coding sequence of selenoproteingenes precludes their identification and correctannotation. The in-frame UGA codons are recodedto cotranslationally incorporate selenocysteine,a rare selenium-containing amino acid. The developmentof ad hoc experimental and, more recently,computational approaches have allowed the efficientidentification and characterization of theselenoproteomes of a growing number of species.Today, dozens of selenoprotein families have beendescribed and more are being discovered in recentlysequenced species, but the correct genomic annotationis not available for the majority of thesegenes. SelenoDB is a long-term project that aims toprovide, through the collaborative effort of experimentaland computational researchers, automaticand manually curated annotations of selenoproteingenes, proteins and SECIS elements. Version 1.0 ofthe database includes an initial set of eukaryoticgenomic annotations, with special emphasis on thehuman selenoproteome, for immediate inspectionby selenium researchers or incorporation into moregeneral databases. SelenoDB is freely available athttp://www.selenodb.org.

Quality Assessment of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Images at 1.5/3.0 T: Description and Validation of Standardized Criteria

PURPOSE: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has become a robust and important diagnostic imaging modality in cardiovascular medicine. However,insufficient image quality may compromise its diagnostic accuracy. No standardized criteria are available to assess the quality of CMR studies. We aimed todescribe and validate standardized criteria to evaluate the quality of CMR studies including: a) cine steady-state free precession, b) delayed gadoliniumenhancement, and c) adenosine stress first-pass perfusion. These criteria will serve for the assessment of the image quality in the setting of the Euro-CMR registry.METHOD AND MATERIALS: First, a total of 45 quality criteria were defined (35 qualitative criteria with a score from 0-3, and 10 quantitative criteria). Thequalitative score ranged from 0 to 105. The lower the qualitative score, the better the quality. The quantitative criteria were based on the absolute signal intensity (delayed enhancement) and on the signal increase (perfusion) of the anterior/posterior left ventricular wall after gadolinium injection. These criteria were then applied in 30 patients scanned with a 1.5T system and in 15 patients scanned with a 3.0T system. The examinations were jointly interpreted by 3 CMR experts and 1 study nurse. In these 45 patients the correlation between the results of the quality assessment obtained by the different readers was calculated.RESULTS: On the 1.5T machine, the mean quality score was 3.5. The mean difference between each pair of observers was 0.2 (5.7%) with a mean standarddeviation of 1.4. On the 3.0T machine, the mean quality score was 4.4. The mean difference between each pair of onservers was 0.3 (6.4%) with a meanstandard deviation of 1.6. The quantitative quality assessments between observers were well correlated for the 1.5T machine: R was between 0.78 and 0.99 (pCONCLUSION: The described criteria for the assessment of CMR image quality are robust and have a low inter-observer variability, especially on 1.5T systems.CLINICAL RELEVANCE/APPLICATION: These criteria will allow the standardization of CMR examinations. They will help to improve the overall quality ofexaminations and the comparison between clinical studies.

A context-based methodology for integrating Web 2.0 services in learning scenarios

The emergence of the Web 2.0 technologies in the last years havechanged the way people interact with knowledge. Services for cooperation andcollaboration have placed the user in the centre of a new knowledge buildingspace. The development of new second generation learning environments canbenefit from the potential of these Web 2.0 services when applied to aneducational context. We propose a methodology for designing learningenvironments that relates Web 2.0 services with the functional requirements ofthese environments. In particular, we concentrate on the design of the KRSMsystem to discuss the components of this methodology and its application.

La adaptación de los periódicos digitales al entorno de la Web 2.0.

El propósito de esta comunicación es analizar el estado actual de los periódicos digitales, prestandoespecial atención a la adaptación de éstos al entorno de la Web 2.0. Para llevar a cabo este trabajo sehan estudiado, entre otras, las siguientes variables: el tipo de herramientas propias de la Web 2.0que los periódicos digitales han incorporado a sus sitios web, la forma en que éstas ha cambiado elproceso de creación de los productos periodísticos, la respuesta que los periódicos digitales hanrecibido por parte de la audiencia y el nuevo tipo de interacción creado con los usuarios.

Epidemiology and mortality of glacier crevasse accidents.

INTRODUCTION: Crevasse accidents can lead to severe injuries and even death, but little is known about their epidemiology and mortality. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed helicopter-based emergency services rescue missions for crevasse victims in Switzerland between 2000 and 2010. Demographic and epidemiological data were collected. Injury severity was graded according to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) score. RESULTS: A total of 415 victims of crevasse falls were included in the study. The mean victim age was 40 years (SD 13) (range 6-75), 84% were male, and 67% were foreigners. The absolute number of victims was much higher during the months of March, April, July, and August, amounting to 73% of all victims; 77% of victims were practicing mountaineering or ski touring. The mean depth of fall was 16.5m (SD 9.0) (range 1-35). Overall on-site mortality was 11%, and it was higher during the ski season than the ski offseason (14% vs. 7%; P=0.01), for foreigners (14% vs. 5%; P=0.01), and with higher mean depth of fall (22 vs. 15m; P=0.01). The NACA score was ≥4 for 22% of the victims, indicating potential or overt vital threatening injuries, but 24% of the victims were uninjured (NACA 0). Multivariable analyses revealed that depth of the fall, summer season, and snowshoeing were associated with higher NACA scores, whereas depth of the fall, snowshoeing, and foreigners but not season were associated with higher risk of death. CONCLUSION: The clinical spectrum of injuries sustained by the 415 patients in this study ranged from benign to life-threatening. Death occurred in 11% of victims and seems to be determined primarily by the depth of the fall.